The election platforms of the candidates in Saturday’s elections need to be less focused on industrial development and instead address long-neglected environmental issues, environmental activists from the Taiwan Environmental Protection Union (TEPU) said yesterday.
“After looking at the 46 election manifestos, we found only 31 election promises pertaining to environmental protection — this is low in comparison to those related to industrial development and the economy,” said Wang Chin-shou (王俊秀), president of the union.
Most of the “green” election promises pertain to the development of eco-tourism and environmental clean ups, rather than sustainable development and clean power sources, Wang said.
He said a lack of candidates running on purely environmental initiatives was disheartening, especially when seen against their recent popularity in the EU, Japan and the US.
“Our parties need to start fielding candidates that run on an environmental platform, as found in other developed nations,” Wang said. “Right now, because the candidates have to juggle priorities, they usually go with a pro-development platform.”
Statistics issued by the organization showed that 14 of the eco-friendly election promises came from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), 12 from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and five from independent candidates.
Officials from the organization said despite an increase in environmental awareness among the public, there was no significant increase in policies reflecting this during the election.
“The general public knows how important the environment is and they should show it when they vote on Saturday,” said Shih Shin-min (施信民), a professor at National Taiwan University. “People should vote for candidates who have a proven track record in the environmental protection movement.”
Shih said three candidates in this year’s elections were especially notable for their past record in environmental protection — Tsao Chi-hung (曹啟鴻), the DPP incumbent running in Pingtung County; Liu Gin-show (劉俊秀), the DPP candidate in Hsinchu City; and DPP incumbent Su Chih-fen (蘇治芬) in Yunlin County.
TEPU officials also called on voters to reject incumbent candidates that have supported projects that they allege have resulted in heavy pollution over the past few years, including the proposed science park in Erlin Township (二林), Changhua County.
The project, which passed its environmental assessment last month, has been criticized by local fishermen and farmers because they fear the pollution emitted by the proposed facilities would affect the quality of life in the area.
Changhua County Commissioner Cho Po-yuan (卓伯源) has said the project is important for increasing living standards and for the high-tech industry’s development in the western corridor.
Wang said the Erlin project was another example of politicians continuing to favor industrial development over conservation.
“These policies are unsustainable, both for our environment and the next generation,” Wang said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS